Chris Hughton insisted Norwich City were full value for an historic 1-0 Premier League win over Manchester United at a vibrant Carrow Road.

Anthony Pilkington flashed home a sublime glancing header from Javier Garrido’s cross on the hour mark to clinch only a second win over the Red Devils in 21 years. Sir Alex Ferguson’s side were unable to pierce a backline superbly marshalled by John Ruddy. The England keeper was in imperious form towards the closing stages in front of watching Three Lions’ boss Roy Hodgson, but Hughton was adamant City’s priceless win had not been a rearguard action. City midfielder Jonny Howson spurned a gilt-edged chance for a second in stoppage time when put through by fellow substitute Steve Morison.

“It doesn’t come any bigger than Manchester United,” said Hughton. “What pleased me most was that over the 90 minutes we deserved what we got. I thought we limited them to really minimal chances. Of course they were going to get a lot of balls into our box, like Manchester United do. We had to defend really well and we could have, with a little bit more composure, should have put the game to bed a bit earlier.

“Manchester United have shown time after time that being 1-0 down doesn’t mean a lot to them. They can change the way they play. They open the game up and go a little bit more offensive, which they did do here, and they have great options in the squad. Probably for those who didn’t watch the game and were expecting United to get an equaliser and then a winner late in the game, we defended really well from the front. You can’t solve all the problems, but we were certainly in the right place enough of the time.

“I thought it was an excellent goal. Anthony has that quality and I thought he was excellent today. He had to be - particularly with (Antonio) Valencia on that side. I don’t think the goalkeeper could have done much about it, but it was nice to see him scoring.”

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Wow. The hostility of some fans is remarkable. For an opposing fan to congratulate you on your good performance then to say we're hated really it quite petulant. I wish you every success, but not at my expense of course. See you on the 11th.

One of the best defensive performances I have seen from City in the last 40 years. Really stopped the United attack in its tracks. Good to see us getting credit for this on MOTD too for once, rather than them saying the "big" team played badly.
I think there is still cause for concern that we aren't scoring enough goals - that's why we haven't beaten the QPRs, Villas and Readings like we should have. But the foundations are looking rock solid now.

Right from the off our football was slick, smooth and more than happy to link up in the counter, all orchestrated from a bang on it Hoolahan, who was unplayable, constantly found 10-15 yard pockets of space and passed the ball beautifully. Holt had no right to win some of the long balls played up but with Hodgson looking on, he played a blinder, his first touch, holding up the ball and good passing let us counter often with Hoolahan and Pilks who ran the show. More brave defending and second to none breaking up of play by Johnson and Tettey never allowed Man U to probe like they did so devastatingly against Villa. Wonderful result and if the players can get that revved up for every game, we could maintain this healthy streak.

Wisemanthree - as a subscriber to the EDP and living in Norwich, no matter what team I follow do I not have the right to participate on a public forum? I came on here to congratulate your team on a good performance and result, only to see a swipe at Paul Lambert, especially mystifying as his team was not even at Carrow road. Its not a NCFC forum, its an article on the local press *sighs and melts under the amount of freedom of speech*

Wow. The hostility of some fans is remarkable. For an opposing fan to congratulate you on your good performance then to say we're hated really it quite petulant. I wish you every success, but not at my expense of course. See you on the 11th.

My man of the match goes to Ruddy for his sharpness at the end saved us the game. I can feel his stock is rising, and with the mistakes that Hart keeps making i think both Ruddy and Forster are pussing hard for England no1. I dont think sweeden would have scored 4 with Ruddy in goal.

I don't often comment on this forum anymore as I have found some of the postings rather unneccesarily unpleasant and personal as well! But I just want to say, last night's result was sublime and brilliant to say the least. And whilst we can bemoan some of our previous performances, City are now a team in progress. Hoots is gradually getting many issues resolved and the result, as we can see, is a much tighter outfit in terms of defense and midfield. We just need refreshing in the striker department and mission well on the way to being completed. And a message for MonkeyNuts; thank you for your kind thoughts regarding our victory; it takes courage to do that. I'm just sorry Villa had a bad day yesterday. But be encouraged, Lambert will come good it will take time; managerial changes usually do. otbc

The question has to be asked......................how can we be so good in beating Arsenal...then bad to appalling in 2 poor draws against villa and Reading, then sublimely good against Manchester United??
Will our survival come down to playing more top teams than also rans???
Only criticism....we should have brought Bennett on earlier than we did.

Well done all. Congrats to CH and thats why he is a manager and I am not.
agree with clever as BBC text is already saying United looked well below their best . But given their recent record they dont get much right !

Wow. The hostility of some fans is remarkable. For an opposing fan to congratulate you on your good performance then to say we're hated really it quite petulant. I wish you every success, but not at my expense of course. See you on the 11th.

A fantastic result, it is truly remarkable how Chris Hughton has upgraded and drilled the Norwich team. Now that there is understanding among the players there is a fantastic platform for bits of individual brilliance as well as toleration of the comic waste of the odd bonifide chance. I would prefer to see more about an undefeated six-game run and clean sheets against Arsenal and ManU than a prolonged moan about someone's right to freedom of speech, which I can't see has been denied in any way.

Irongloves & Billy -- well said. I only watched here on the TV but the atmosphere came over and I would also follow on on the greats of the past that we may have another and also Scot in the mould of Malky as for me Whittaker also put in a shift at the back as he popped up all over the back line. Also on reflection if we take into account the Aresenal and Stoke games and also the Reading game we have a manager who sets the side up in the right manner with some very very good results, where the pundits say Man Udidn't play well I say it is more Norwich didn't let them play. Last season we couldn't buy a clean sheet - but I think Ruddy didn't really need extra goalkeeping practice from Bassong's back header. Roy I hope you were watching Norwich lads and not only the Man U lads! OTBC

I am not sure what negativity you mean Leslie. My post was a response to Johnny Gavin and I don't know whether his comments were aimed at ones like mine or some of the trolls that come on here. I certainly don't feel negative, just realistic. We had a great win and great performance yesterday and we played good football. Last week we didn't play good football, hence the criticism. I want the team to play like they did yesterday. I know we won't always reach that level of performance, but I want us to try to play that way. As for the criticism of Hughton, some of it has been lacking in thought, but some makes sensible and valid points. I could also point out that I have also criticised Lambert in the past when he has made mistakes. Making a mistake and then people talking about it does not mean that they think they are a bad manager. I thought hughton was a very good manager before he came here, but in football that has to be proved over and again. Hughton is now showing us what he is about and what qualities he brings to the party. I have no doubt that over time he will improve us as a team from where we were when Lambert left. Could PL have sorted out the defence like Hughton has??

Must agree with sussexyellow our defence is looking really good,and i agree we still need to be sticking the chances away against the bottoms teams when we play them,thats as important as beating the likes of Man U and The Gunners,but im sure CH will address that situation, IHWT OTBC

Like it Sid! Though I have to say, I don't hate Lambert and I wish him well. He left us in a far better place than when he took over and Villa only did to us what we did to Colchester. Having said that if it is us or Villa for the drop, I hope it's them! Can I also take a moment to say how good Turner was yesterday. He has been heavily criticised because of his poor early form, but he has shown a lot of character to turn it around. I guess that Hughton has had something to do with it and perhaps that is a good example of his man management abilities showing through. I was also glad to see Pilks put in a good performance and get a goal. He is an important player for us and will be key in this formation if we are to break down opposing teams. His form hasn't been as good as last season, up til now that is, and McDermot said that their plan was to stop Wes from playing. In this formation there is a real need to share out the creative and attacking burden and if that happens we can cause problems. OTBC

C`mon, boys! Monkey Nuts tries to be civilised. He just happens to be a Villa fan who lives in Norwich, don`t write the guy off as a troll. As much as I was unhappy with the way PL left, it`s all history now. As much as I, like so many others, worried about the way Hoots has tackled the task of making City a real Prem side rather than a one-season wonder, there`s never been any doubt that he was the best man for the job (subject to availabilty and realism). The line-up yesterday had 6 Hoots signings, inc all the back 4, and 3 of PL`s. The other two were the dynamic duo of Holty and Hoolahoop (Gunn & Roeder). Five clean sheets already. We are no longer a flaky gung-ho outfit. IHWT. Hi, cdu adelaide. I had a quart in each hand! Hooroo.

i guess it's humble pie for a lot of people that were posting on here a month or so ago, some of us knew that the run of games city had then was not going to define their season. CH has built resolve into the side and a certain arrogance that PL never had, We can compete with the top half better now and look them straight in the eyes. Well done boys !!

Wow,just the second win against Manufactured United in 21 years? Just amazing.Quite honestly,although I no longer watch football,I still look at the NCFC results after every game.No other scores,strictly Norwich.And I know for a fact that Norwich beat these guys 2-0 here when they were in the Premier league the last time,which was about five years ago.How the other decades even come into consideration when Norwich were in different divisions doesn't seem to matter.Why say that Norwich have beaten a team twice in five years,when you can skew the numbers out of all proportion and come up with an irrelevant twenty one year statistic? I suppose that's what they teach small time reporters now at the University Of Hack Journalism.

Can I just say that some (not all) of the negativity has been criticism of the way the team has played or the tactics chosen. I think we have a right to criticise when things aren't right. Last week was a good example, as it was a very poor game. We have been very late on MOTD for good reasons at times this season. Yesterday the passing was much better and we were more positive going forward and so the balance between attack and defence was better. Like many people, I have had my doubts about our ability to survive, but they have been based on the evidence of performances. However, I wanted Hughton to replace Lambert and advocate sticking with a manager because they need time. You are right that Hughton had only a short pre-season with the squad, but he is now showing himself to be more than capable of doing the job and the squad are growing into the season and I for one am much more confident (not just because of yesterday) that we will stay up. Just as last seson, 4th bottom at the end would do me because we need to establish ourselves in the Prem, and we are one of the teams that could be vulnerable. Oh, and great win and we want our scarves and colours back! IHWT

Absolutely agree with you, Barnsley. The negative posting on here recently has been a disgrace. Lambo had two years with his group of players before tackling the Prem, CH had one pre-season. Obviously there were going to be some negative results to start with, but he has now got the team playing his way and all credit to him. The man's track record before coming to City speaks for itself, he's no one's pushover. Pity that it's taken a while for some people to realise that.

Guys -- i just got ethered i believe so i wil try to re-enforce what i have said before i am a Football fan. I have a season ticket at Villa Park, i travel to 75% away games and i watch the reserves and U19's midweek. if i cant get to a game i go to local games such as Kings Lynn, Diss, Yarmouth or Lowestoft. I am not a wind up merchant, i only comment either to congratulate or question. I dont expect anything from opposing fans, all i want is the same respect i show you. Is that not a fair comment?

There must be a portrait of Wes Hoolahan in the Carra Catacombs alongside the one of Grant Holt. Two immortals on the pitch while their likenesses take the punishment. Marvellous to see Wessi blossoming in the Prem. A joy!

Johnny G and Barnsley agree totally with you and what we have this season now is a defence with resolve or should I say a team that defends with resolve. I have said it before I will accept that we take over the mantle of Arsenal of years of old 1-0 to the City but we do not have the boring mantle. We will always be on the end of the big team not performing against us but Fergie came out afterwards and gave credit and over here it was Gordon Strachan and Dean Ashton as studio pundits and in the end Strachan gave credit where credit was due. The other good that came out the game was when we changed it towards the end the performance didn't drop we just continued in the same style. OTBC

Fantastic performance, superb defending and great vocal support! Ruddy was immense. How anyone can be the slightest bit negative after that is beyond me. Give me a clean sheet and a 1 - 0 win every time. One of the best nights ever at Carrow Rd. Well done to the whole team.

At last a goal from a flanker something that has been lacking all season.As for Snods on the other side have not seen anyone work as hard since the halcyon days of Gary Holt.No wonder he got cramp.Hoots now knows his best team and the importance of starting with Wes.

MonkeyNuts yes it is a public Forum, but a Public Forum for NCFC Fans...and let me put this in Simple Terms even you will understand..We Hate Villa and although we Thank PL for all he did with getting Norwich to the Premier League We Now Hate him and hope he gets relegated along with your Team. Best Song today at Carrow Road has to be, How Green is your Grass, how Green is your Grass, Paul Lambert How Green is your Grass

MonkeyNuts - it strikes me as odd why you would question people's apparent dislike of other teams other than their own. This is (after all) a Norwich City forum... if you're looking for a website where Aston Villa aren't slandered then may I suggest an Aston Villa forum? (*melts under the sheer weight of common sense*)

Wow. The hostility of some fans is remarkable. For an opposing fan to congratulate you on your good performance then to say we're hated really it quite petulant. I wish you every success, but not at my expense of course. See you on the 11th.

Open debate is what I enjoy and I feel that the majority of the time we get that here, but let us not let it become personal. I for one thank what PL did for us, we always knew he would leave maybe not in the way it happened, but it is in the past. Hopefully he gets a good reaction before any games when he visits but once the whistle blows I hope we beat them. Hoots is getting it together, as the saying goes he will not please all the fans all the time, that is human nature and adds to the open debate here. Again well done to the team for an unforgettable result, both the team on and off the pitch and I include the yellows in the 26840 in the stands. I look forward to the Everton match which hopefully, and this is personal, it is 3o'clock game! OTBC

like i've said before, i love football, im a fan. i pay for a season ticket at Villa Park and travel to 75% away games and watch the reserves and under 19's too. When i can't make the game, i'll go to watch Kings Lynn, Diss, Great Yarmouth, Lowestoft. Sometimes like yesterday i get tickets for NCFC. Gone are my days of winding up folks, i'll be the first to congratulate a team when the underdogs come away with the points. i don't expect any courtesy back, all i expect is to be treated the same as i have treated you. Fair?